


In my darkest night, you were there.

by Miss_Barbara



Series: Every day in a new way. [3]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Child Abuse, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-29
Updated: 2012-02-29
Packaged: 2017-10-31 21:50:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/348707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Barbara/pseuds/Miss_Barbara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“As it is quiet rare for someone to refuse the holy implantation the refuser will enter the building as well as the weakest of the group. There they will be confronted with the machine that will induce the terrors of the darkest times.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	In my darkest night, you were there.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to fififolle for the beta, contains emotional and physical child abuse.

“Lorne to Parrish.”

“Parrish here.”

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

“I would if I could.”

“I know.”

“Are we good?”

“We will be.”

“Thanks.”

“Night, Major.”

\---

They weren’t good. Not really, but at least they were as good as before and it was enough for now. There was a promise for more lingering in the air though.

There was a trading mission with a group of people known as the Vidacaves. They lived on a small planet and according to the first contact team they could be compared to the Amish people, or at least their lifestyle could be. They came highly recommended by the Athosians as fair trading partners. They would exchange vegetables and grains for medical supplies and Parrish was the assigned man to check out the goods, so to speak.

The official meeting ceremony was nice, if not a little boring, but the dinner afterwards was great. It was then that things started to go south after the dinner and the touching of the obelisk began. As soon as Lorne touched it the thing came to life, shining a pale blue light and playing some sort of lullaby. He cursed the Ancients for leaving their toys all over the frikking galaxy as he tried handing the thing over to Parrish but the head villager had already noticed and was running towards them.

“You did not tell us that you are a seedling of the ones that came before us, Major!” he exclaimed, waving a few girls over. “Please bless these girls with your love juice.”  
Next to him Evan heard Parrish cough and Reed suppress a laugh. There were now 7 naked girls around him and if it hadn't have been so creepy it would have been extremely hot.

“A bed, food and drinks will be provided during the insemination and all your other needs will be catered for as well.” 

Very much not looking at the girls Evan turned to Gradus, the head villager, and said to him, “In our culture this kind if behavior is not allowed. People will only make love to people they love.” The making love comment earned him a snigger from Reed. 

“Major, if you refuse to participate in our holy gathering, the weakest member of your team will be punished.” Before Gradus finished talking he heard the satisfying click of P90s and saw Parrish being pulled between Reed and Coughlin. 

“We have to go now,” Evan insisted, also standing up. “And I suggest you do not harm us, it wouldn’t be a fair fight.”

Suddenly Gradus lashed out, punching him in the jaw and before he could get his feet back under him. His team was thrown in some sort of makeshift jail.

“We will prepare the machine and will come back to get him in a short period of time,” Gradus said, voice cold and pointing to Parrish. The floor was cold and grey and the sun had disappeared and suddenly the village surrounded by trees looked a lot creepier than before.

After a few minutes Parrish had tensed up and when 8 big men came to get them Lorne felt his fists clench in response.

They were made to walk at least two miles to the north when they finally came to a halt and wow, if it wasn’t an Ancient outpost of some kind. Next to the entrance of the building stood a man in a funny-looking dress, probably a priest of some sort, and what must be the entire community. 

“As it is quiet rare for someone to refuse the holy implantation the refuser will enter the building as well as the weakest of the group. There they will be confronted with the machine that will induce the terrors of the darkest times.”

It took them a few seconds before they realized what he was saying. “Nightmares,” Parrish whispered as he went as pale as a sheet. 

Lorne can sympathize, knowing from a few times off-world that Parrish hardly sleeps. Always tossing and turning almost as if he was fighting sleep. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why.

“I’m going to be there, doc. It’s all going to fine. We are going to be together, nothing is going to happen to you.”

Gradus motioned over an old grey man and they went inside the building. After a few turns in the complex the guards disappeared but Lorne thought that if they made a move now they wouldn't survive it.

So he settled on following, for now.

~ 

The chamber they were led into was smallish, it contained two chairs with a heap of electrodes, clearly a neural interface, Parrish thought. To the left was a typical Ancient console - some blinking lights, a few buttons and no manual whatsoever. 

Not making things harder then they already were he sat down in the chair and waited patiently for the old man to attached the electrodes to his forehead. From the corner of his eye he saw Lorne doing the same.

David was anxious, he knew what his nightmares were about, but Evan's were probably a whole other story. David was a bit terrified, he knew he wouldn't do well with burning houses, dead people and war in general. 

Looking over, Evan flashed him a reassuring smile. It did nothing to loosen the knot in his belly.

“After we leave, you will have a few minutes before the device activates. It is up to you to figure out how to escape the terrors,” the old man said, rubbing an invisible stain off the console.

“Many left to the bearings of this device did survive,” the village leader said. “You have a big advantage in being together,” he said finally before leaving the room.

The door fell closed and the ceiling started to light up, it slowly turned clockwise and David was enthralled for a few seconds before he snapped out of it.

“Think off at the device,” he ordered the major.

“Didn't work,” Evan answered, “Already tried that, gave me some sort of error.”

“I am sorry for all this,” Evan muttered, not meeting his eyes. 

“So am I,” Parrish answered. “So am I.”

It wasn't long before sleep claimed him and when he opened his eyes he was in one of the smaller recreation rooms with Lorne. Some movie was playing on the TV in the corner and Parrish couldn't identify what it was. He supposed that it didn't really matter. It clearly wasn't one of his nightmares.

“Major,” he said, striding over to the spot where the other man stood frozen. “Tell me, what is going to happen?”

“I can't believe it,” said major was muttering. “I can't believe it is one of those, of all things.”

“Evan, what is going to happen?” David asked again, gripping the smaller man's shoulder.

“Snowmen,” he answered cryptically. “Hundreds, thousands of them, and they are going to freeze me.”

Dumbstruck he gazed at Evan. Of all the things this man could possibly have nightmares about, he was afraid of snowmen? He was about to reassure the man that they could deal with snowmen when the door slid open. The room temperature dropped to just above freezing and then this army of snowmen marched in. It was surreal, but then again, he figured that nightmares would be.

Lorne was already driven into the corner, shaking and really pale.

“This is Atlantis!” Parrish yelled. “Think the temperature up. Focus on that.”

From the glazed look on Lorne's face it was obvious that he wasn't thinking clearly.

Destroying the small snowmen left and right he marched towards Evan and gripped his upper arms, forcing him to focus. “Atlantis,” he all but yelled. “Think the damn temperature up, NOW!” he said in his best impression of a drill-sergeant. Luckily the trick worked as the temperature slowly began to climb upwards, slowing the snowmen down, who still hadn't reached them. After a few minutes it was so hot in the room Parrish took his jacket off as he watched the little creatures melt into puddles of water, and the water evaporate.

As soon as the last shred of evidence disappeared, Evan snapped out of his trance and flushed all the way up to the roots of his dark hair.

“I was about four years old when there was this massive snowfall in the area, my brothers, being a lot older, thought it would be fun to scare the crap out of me. One of them hid inside a snowman and when I came close to admire the thing he jumped out. I still have nightmares about it,” he explained and David refused to find it cute that he was still flushed and scratching the back of his neck while looking everywhere except for at David. 

“It's okay,” David grinned. “I was anticipating a lot worse so yeah, I don't mind.” The grin quickly disappeared as he realized what was next and so did Lorne.

“Hey, I will be there and together we can fight it, okay?” he said as he strode over, grabbing David's hand. 

He should pull his hand away, but it gives him a strange sort of comfort as the world around them swirls, twists and finally morphs into the place David is all too familiar with. He feels himself shrink as he hears the low pitched voice of his mother.

\---

Evan Lorne was still embarrassed about his own nightmare when the world around him morphed into a completely unfamiliar place. It appeared to be a small kitchen. The counter was used but clean and on a little stepladder was David, he couldn't be more then 10 years old and he was doing the dishes. The place looked cold, nothing compared to the warm, decorated and lively kitchen he had grown up in.

A tall woman walked in, a cigarette between her lips and a glass of wine in her left hand. 

“Still not done with the dishes?” she asked in a rough voice that suggested years of smoking and alcohol.

“This is the last pan, mom,” David answered and he frantically scrubs a serving spoon.

“Good, go and iron my clothes afterwards.”

His shoulders slumped even further. “I was hoping that I could go to Greenmart, mother, they are having a sale and there is this plant I really want.”

“Plants, plants, plants,” the woman muttered. “You spend hours on those things while you could be helping me,” she said as she disappeared with her empty glass.

Evan tried talking to David, but somehow it doesn't seem to register with the child. After he had finished cleaning the dishes he walked up the stairs to a small room. Under the window stood a table with several plants, a chair and some books on plants. Next to the door on the left side stood a bed and on the wall were dozens of pictures and drawings of plants.

He retrieved some money, hidden inside the biggest book, before he went downstairs, out of the back door, where a boy and a girl are playing. They look so much like David that it isn't a wild guess to say that they must be his siblings. 

“Little Davy gonna get some weeds?” the girl sneered, as David grabbed an old and battered bike from the behind the shed. In the shed, Evan notes, there are 4 brand new bikes. 

The boy laughed as David cycles past him. “Gonna cry again, baby?” he asked.

David just ignored them and cycled out of the garden, and Evan is terrified when he crosses street after street, every one more dangerous than the last.

–

It took David a little bit longer to reach Greenmart this time. But he was there well before closing time as he breathed in deeply. Between the plants he can forget about his situation at home and just be at one with the plants. 

It wasn't long before he spotted Shelly and he gave her a small wave as she was helping a customer. He knew she would come over anyway. A few minutes later she appeared on his left and gave him a enthusiastic hug. He never told her but he really cherished those moments, the fact that someone cared about him. She spoiled him as if she knows. Gave him little treats, or, on one occasion bought him a new pair of shoes after he had grown out of his brother's old pair. He had asked his parents for a new pair since his feet had started to hurt, but they had just laughed at him and suggested he was being a cry-baby.

His new, well fitting shoes turned out to be three sizes bigger than his brother's old shoes.

Buying the plant he had been saving up for for months he slowly pedalled back home. He hoped the rest of his family was out so they wouldn't pick on him. His family was in, but he managed to sneak upstairs unseen, where he re-potted his newest plant.

Suddenly a man appeared, sitting on his bed. 'Evan' his mind supplied as he walked over.

“Mister Evan?” he asked, wondering how this person had materialized in his room.

“David, listen to me,” he said. “You need to focus on me, this is a nightmare, you are now an adult and more than capable of fighting your parents and siblings, do you understand?”

He nodded, just to be on the safe side. But when he really thought about it something started nagging at his mind. As he realized that it was indeed a nightmare his body started growing, he grew up tall, muscled and bigger than even his father had been. 

“Evan?” he asked, confused.

“Remember, David. This is a nightmare. We are going to fight your parents once and for all,” he said as he grabbed the tall man's wrist and guided him down the stairs. They entered the living room where the rest of the 'family' was watching TV. They didn't even seem to notice that David had entered.

“I am leaving,” he said.

“Did you finish your chores?” his father asked.

“I won't do anything for you anymore. You have been abusing me for years and even though I haven't seen you in decades you still affect me.”

“Shut up, dimwit, and go to your room,” the man said, standing up and walking towards him. 

David swallowed as he felt himself shrink. But Evan was there, he was standing next to him, giving him strength. 

His father lashed out his fist, but it goes straight through David and one by one the people and items in the room disappear, leaving only David and Evan behind.

“Thank you,” David muttered quietly before he lost consciousness once again. 

\---

When Evan opened his eyes again he realized that he was back in the chair on that horrible planet. He felt sick to his stomach having witnessed one of David's nightmares and he was ripping the electrodes off his head as he stood up, moving over to David's chair. David, who was white as a sheet, was shaking and looking really bad.

“Hey,” Lorne said as he pulled David into a hug. “You defeated them, it's over now. It's okay.” He shushed as he continued to hold the other man. He sat down and pulled David into his lap. 

The large man curled up into a tiny ball as he sobbed and his body shuddered. It's as if he was holding a small child and Evan guessed that in some way he is. He knows the statistics and it's a small miracle that David is mentally and physically healthy but chances are that he was never really loved.

“It's okay,” Evan murmured in the soft hair under his chin as he held on to the man in his lap. The situation couldn't make him any more uncomfortable but he could do this, he would do it for David.

A few minutes later the sobbing gradually stopped and David went still, still sniffling a little in his neck. Feeling his legs fall asleep Evan stretched them as much as he could and promptly wished that he hadn't as David jumped up, stammering and apologizing for everything and nothing at the same time.

Evan stood up and clamped his hand over David's mouth, shutting him up the only way he knows how.

“If anyone should apologize it is me, I put you in this situation. But I wasn't about to go do the nasty with a few pretty woman when I am in love with someone else.”

He felt his face go hot and red and walked away, convinced that in his own special way he declared the topic off-limits. David clearly doesn't get it as he followed him out of the building. 

“Really?” he asked, eyes shining as if he just got the best gift ever, and yeah, maybe he had. 

“Really,” is the only confirmation he gets before they walk out of the room and into the sharp daylight. Evan can almost convince himself that the sharp sun is the reason his eyes are a bit watery.

\---

They get checked over extensively at the infirmary but finally they both get a clean bill of health. David is about to escape to his lab when Evan corners him. It's the middle of the infirmary and he looks like a cornered deer.

“Don't worry, doc,” Evan laughed, a bit too loud and a bit too fake, but people who don't really know him will buy it.

“If you ever have a nightmare, wake me up. Don't care about time or anything.” He inhaled deeply as he looked around but no one is actually paying attention to them. “I do care about you, y'know.” With a pat on David's arm he disappeared.

David didn't bother to hide his grin as he walked to the botany labs. Seems like his nightmare turned into some sort of a dream after all.


End file.
